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2012년 3월 2일 금요일

Twelve people were killed Friday during protests in Afghanistan over the burning of copies of the Quran at a NATO base, officials said, despite Thursday's written apology from Barack Obama.

Seven people were killed and 50 wounded in the western province of Herat, while two more were killed in Khost in the east. Three people were killed earlier during protests.

On Thursday, two U.S. soldiers were shot dead during a protest by a man wearing an Afghan government soldier's uniform, as a letter from Obama apologizing for the Quran burnings was delivered to Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

The U.S.-led military coalition in Afghanistan says the Qurans and other Islamic texts were sent to a burn pit by mistake.

Afghan police in Khost, the provincial capital of Khost province, said Friday that an estimated 4,000 protesters were marching toward the governor's compound.

And in the eastern part of Nangarhar province, thousands of people shouted "Death to America!" and burned a cardboard picture of Obama. There was also a smaller protest in the capital Kabul.

NATO's top military commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Gen. John Allen, who apologized Tuesday when the news broke, said Friday that an investigation into the Quran burnings was pushing ahead and called on Afghans to be patient.

"Working together with the Afghan leadership is the only way for us to correct this major error and ensure that it never happens again," Allen said in a statement.

He called on everyone around Afghanistan "to exercise patience and restraint as we continue to gather the facts."

Afghan protesters burn a U.S. flag during a protest in Jalalabad province on Friday, Feb. 24. Several people were killed on Friday in the bloodiest day yet in protests that have raged across Afghanistan over the desecration of copies of the Muslim holy book at a NATO military base with riot police and soldiers on high alert braced for more violence.

An Afghan policeman uses his baton to disperse demonstrators during a protest against Quran desecration in Kabul on Friday, Feb. 24.

Demonstrators shout anti-U.S. slogans during a protest against Quran desecration in Kabul on Friday, Feb. 24.

Afghan policemen form a line outside the American military base during an anti-U.S. demonstration in Mehterlam, on Thursday.

Supporters of banned Pakistan-based charity Jamaat-ud-Dawa carry party flags during a protest in Faisalabad, Pakistan, on Friday, Feb. 24.

Obama Apologizes for Quran Burnings on U.S. Base

More Afghan Violence Despite Obama Apology

Activists of a Bangladeshi Islamic political group stage a demonstration in Dhaka on Friday, Feb. 24.

Malaysian Muslims gather after Friday prayers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday, Feb. 24 to protest against the burning of Qurans in Afghanistan by U.S. troops.

Supporters of Pakistan's outlawed Islamic party Jamaat ud Dawa shout anti-US slogans during a protest in Quetta on Thursday, Feb. 23, over the burning of copies of the Quran at a U.S.-run military base in neighboring Afghanistan. President Barack Obama was forced to apologize over the incident after three days of violent protests left 14 people dead, including two American soldiers.

An Afghan policeman runs after confiscating a U.S. flag from protesters in Kabul on Thursday. The Taliban urged Afghans to target foreign military bases and kill Westerners in retaliation for burning copies of the Quran at Bagram, NATO's main base in the country, on the third day of violent protests.

Afghan demonstrators burn a U.S. flag during a protest in Helmand province on Thursday.

Afghans remove people who were injured during a protest against the Quran burning in Kabul on Thursday.

Security guards watch as black smoke rises from tires which were burnt by protesters during an anti-U.S. demonstration in Kabul, Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Protestors run as smoke raises from a burning truck during an anti-U.S. demonstration at a NATO military base in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Wednesday.

Afghans thrash a window of a fortified building believed to be a NATO military base during a protest in Kabul on Wednesday. Protests erupted in different parts of Kabul, the eastern city of Jalalabad and the western city of Herat.

Afghan policemen arrive on the scene of clashes with protestors demonstrating against Quran desecration in Kabul, Wednesday. At least 11 people were wounded when shots were fired into a crowd of demonstrators trying to march on the city center. The U.S. embassy in Kabul declared it was on lockdown and Afghan police said they were dispatching reinforcements to stop an angry mob.

Afghan protesters throw rocks towards a water canon near a U.S. military base in Kabul on Wednesday.

An Afghan protester gestures towards a U.S. soldier in front of Bagram air base during an anti-U.S. demonstration on Tuesday, Feb. 21. More than 2,000 angry Afghans, some firing guns in the air, protested on Tuesday against the improper disposal and burning of Qurans and other Islamic religious materials at the american air base.

An Afghan demonstrator holds a copy of a half-burnt Quran, allegedly set on fire by U.S. soldiers, at the gate of Bagram airbase during a protest on Tuesday. Afghan protestors firing slingshots and petrol bombs besieged one of the largest U.S.-run military bases in Afghanistan.

A U.S. soldier wields his assault rifle as another soldier handles a shotgun at the gate of Bagram air base during a protest against Quran desecration, Tuesday.

Afghan demonstrators show Qurans allegedly set alight by U.S. soldiers, during a protest against Koran desecration at the gate of Bagram airbase on Tuesday.

Afghan youth take cover from the rubbers bullets shot by U.S. soldiers near the gates of Bagram airbase on Tuesday.

An Afghan man aims a sling shot towards U.S. soldiers at the gate of Bagram airbase during a protest against Quran desecration on Tuesday.

Afghan demonstrators shout anti-U.S. slogans at the gate of Bagram air base during a protest against Quran desecration Tuesday.